<p>Any advice for those who had to prepare for the CFA in a extremely short amount of time. As of today I have 86 days to prepare for it. Why? Because I’ll be taking the real test at the Naval Academy Summer Seminar, (the CFA administered at the Air Force Summer Seminar is only practice). Any tips anyone? My main trouble is upper body strength. I also need to trim down a several pounds but I don’t want to do anything drastic or dangerous like ONLY eating predijested protein and water for couple of weeks.</p>
<p>All you can do is just....do it. Practice and run. What I did was add 2 pushups every other day for pushups but i did it everyday. Pull ups just takes getting a bar and doing them. I started out not being able to do anyway and just by working out on it i can do 20. Throwing the basketball is all technique, whatever works best for you.</p>
<p>All you can really do is just get out there and do it.</p>
<p>theres this book called the Naval Academy Workout thats really helpful that I use. Even though I might not be able to do the 20 push ups in a row ill be able to do them in sets. Now that the weather is getting nice and its not dark outside at 5 PM ill be able to run some more. I live in the Bronx, in New York City and my instructor told me about going to the gym but my school dosent have a gym. Where can I go to one for free? I use to take classes at this college and i still have thier ID where I can get on the campus gym but the card expired since I don't take anymore classes there.</p>
<p>Look online for this site called the Navy SEALs workout program, or something like that. I did that for a couple few weeks and I almost maxed the CFA. I run about a 5:30 mile and when I got to USAFA, I ran it in 7:02, so I wasn't prepared for that.</p>
<p>For pull-ups, the only way to get better at those are to do them. Pull-ups don't just work your arms, shoulders, and back, they are an excellent work-out for your abs, which will help you on the sit-ups.</p>
<p>Don't worry too much about the basketball throw, I was one of the only few that had not done it before (there's a lot of kids that will go to West Point's, the Navy's, and USAFA's SS). On my first throw I maxed it with 87-88 feet or something. I think it helped that I was a QB, though.</p>
<p>Good luck, and be happy that the Navy's CFA counts. It sucks having to do it in the summer and then doing it again a couple months later because USAFA doesn't count theirs.</p>
<p>this is how i got ready for cfa:</p>
<p>run 10 miles a day ( xc training) although i strongly don't recommend that if you're starting out. you said you wanted to slim down. I would recommend running a little when you first wake up on nothing. this can be dangerous if you don't do it right, but from a physiological standpoint, your body will go after the first source of fuel which is fat.</p>
<p>pushups: just set your goals very high, and eventually you'll reach them. I did 300-500 a night</p>
<p>Sit ups: don't just do sit ups, find a more holistic ab workout and accompany that with high rep sets of situps. i did about 400 a night</p>
<p>pull ups: i had a friend hold my legs to max out and do negatives</p>
<p>Basketball throw: like everyone else said, its all form.</p>
<p>Shuttle Run: this is mostly form as well</p>
<p>most importantly, don't just target the specific areas, work out your entire body because the stronger you feel the better you'll do</p>
<p>How long should I run when I first wake up?</p>
<p>As long as you can.</p>
<p>Any suggestions on doing pull-ups? I have been trying without much success to get even one single pull-up (I do not understand how 3 can be the average on the PFT). Is there anything along the lines of technique I should know? It just seems odd that I cannot do a pull-up but I am well above average for push-ups /sit-ups</p>
<p>chaineezee what do you mean if I don't do it right it can be dangerous. Can you describe how to do it right please?</p>
<p>Coming from an XC runner and a wrestler who yes starved his poor body down too many pounds, running on an empty stomach will always be dangerous, because your body will be lacking vital nutrients to perform at peak potential...</p>
<p>I would say wake up in the morning and yea run without eating anything, then after your workout, grab a little breakfast, this keeps you from getting sick and slowing you down during your run, and your metabolism will be in full gear to burn the food you are consuming... DO not under any circumstances STARVE yourself, I hated it and you have got to me nuts to like it, just cut down your intake a bit and watch wht you eat... Works for me on the weekends when I am not always running track... ;)</p>
<p>Good Luck bud:)</p>
<p>what is the worst case senario running on a empty stomach? is running with an empty stomach except water ok?</p>
<p>i dont think it's really that big of a deal.. you'll probably just feel hungry. dont overrun, you wont have the energy from food to use. if you just run, i'm sure you'll feel when you need to stop (because of hunger, not legs or breathing) :)</p>
<p>Personally, Jan-March of the year before I entered the academy I got up and ran with my friend (currently at WP) for 3 miles each morning after getting up. I honestly felt great running then. I just ate well afterwards, drank plenty and was pumped for the rest of the day! Probably depends a bit on the person too.</p>
<p>it depends on how long you have gone without food... I honestly thought that it wouldnt seriously hurt me, but I had a pretty bad spell at the beginning of wrestling when I tried to cut 12 lbs in 3 days, now I dont imagine you'll be going to the extreme, but the worst case scenario?</p>
<p>Ehh if youve had some water and have eaten the day before lets say, you would be alright...</p>
<p>Like I said before, just watch what you eat and the amount you eat, stay very active each day with your workout, and you should start to see some healthy results... ;)</p>
<p>USAFA10s
In regards to pullups, here are some techniques:</p>
<p>Start by doing a 'pull down' . Instead of starting in the hanging position, start with your chin up above the bar. Try to get where you can pull down in a controlled fashion. Do this as often as you can. My son is really tall, so he can't use one of those pullup bars that you put in your door jam. We actually bought a gym pullup apparatus..to resell later. We live about 40 minutes by train from a gym and the one at school has very limited hours. He basically did pullups whenever he walked by the pullup bar. </p>
<p>Once you can do one, you are on your way. The pullup has alot to do with your back muscles. So you just have to keep at it.
Good Luck!</p>
<p>86 days is plenty of time to get ready for everything.</p>
<p>for running with ur distance runs you should also add in some speed workouts. most basic would b 5 quaters a few seconds faster then race pace. By that i mean run 1 lap timed at lets say ur target race pace is 5:20 it would be in 78-80 seconds. jog a lap and then do that same thing 4 more times. It would be better to look at runnersworld.com for more basic speed workout addvice </p>
<p>push ups and pull ups you can do every other day and build up to whatever goals you set.<br>
on the opposite day you can do situps which you would also work up to your set goal.</p>
<p>my cfa scores last year were
5:20 mile for max (running an extra indoor lap so it really was 4:40's high)
67 b-ball throw
75 push ups for max
103 situps for max
11 pullups
9:00 for sprint</p>
<p>i had a head start for the mile since im a track runner but i didnt start to prepare for pushups, pullups and situps until a month and a half before, so like i said you have plenty of time to prepare and should do really good. </p>
<p>For pull up form btw theres a special grip that can increase ur pullups. all you have to do is use your thumbs instead of like a normal grip keep them next to your fingers. its very hard to explain over the internet i found out about it from the Navy SEAL fitness book. Ill try to find a picture later.</p>
<p>That pull-up tip does help a lot. Having your thumb over instead of under the bar with as much of your hand over really does improve your pull-ups.</p>
<p>I'm no expert but just remember that when you go to the USAFA Summer Seminar, the altitude will probably be a huge shock to you (I think thats why the AFA doesn't make the CFA taken at Summer Seminar your actual score). So make sure to run a lot to build up your endurance like many of the previous posters mentioned. When you go up to 7,000 ft above sea level, your mile will drop substantially, and you'll get tired easier from the little things like shuttle run, and pushups.</p>
<p>AFPJ, don't run until you are dizzy and so exhausted that you are on the brink of passing out. also, drink some water before running, because water speeds up metabolism. If you don't you might even run the risk of urinating blood which isn't healthy. Also, i've found it easier to have a narrower grip on the pull-up bar than a wider grip even though it would seem that a wider grip would require less travel distance for each stroke. BTW, anybody know what kind of mile I can expect to run in Colorado if I can run a 4:40 in Indiana (1500 ft. maybe?)</p>
<p>The altitude will definately play tricks with you. Potter left for BCT a very strong runner(track and CC letter), with solid upper body strength(lots of push-ups in karate). She was able to do 3-4 pull-ups at home (girls are only required to hang for the CFA). By the end of BCT the physical toll was visible. She wasn't able to do any pull-ups for the PFT, was on ensure for weight loss, and was having trouble with her knee. Ended up on Recondo and after about a month the Recondo leaders would ask her "Why are you here?" by the time the AFT rolled around she scored high enough to earn her lightning bolts when combined with her grade from self defence. </p>
<p>If you ask her she will tell you she still hasn't mastered the altitude, and if she doesn't work at it in about a week she will feel the effects in her physical activity.</p>